"I'm sorry your plans to move to California fell through," Mike's voice, tinny and distant, comes from Ricardo's phone. It looks like he's on the beach and, as good as Florida is for its view of the water, Ricardo yearns for home.
He shrugs, looking away from the phone as he walks around his and Alicia's apartment complex's grounds. "I am too, I was looking forward to it. But perhaps some other time in the future..." He tugs at his lip while sighing. "Mi madre was so disappointed. I shouldn't have gotten her hopes up. Now she has to mail my stuff back, and... ugh. I'm so annoyed with myself for even suggesting it to her before i had everything set up."
Mike nods, looks like he's about to say something, when his face falls into an expression of shock. "Uh, Ricardo, can you turn on 205 Live about now?"
He grimaces. Noam is back, which means something's probably happening with Alicia. "I don't know if I want to," he says, before walking back inside and turning on his computer. He accesses WWE Network and stares as a replay of her opening a box and immediately getting coated in white powder of some sort airs. "Oh. Ay dios mio," he says, for once feeling somewhat sympathetic towards Noam as he gingerly backs away from her.
Mike is laughing and even Ricardo has to chuckle at the fury on her face. "You're going to have a fun time when she comes home, I assume," he says before looking up, a soft whining noise coming from nearby. "Oops. Sara is awake, I better go take care of her." He grins at Ricardo. "I'll talk to you soon, man."
"Alright, see ya soon," he says. As soon as the screen goes blank, he gets up with a soft sigh and rubs at his bruised ribs, which happened after an iffy landing during wrestling events in Indiana the past weekend. Heading back outside, he stares up at the dark sky and yawns, rubbing his fingers through his hair. He's landed in an ok place, with or without the move, and Alicia and he seem more stable than ever, so he thinks he can survive in Florida for a little while longer. He smiles and traces the constellations with his finger, nodding to himself. "I can do this."
The next morning, he wakes up to the sounds of the front door slamming shut and Alicia tossing her luggage around. He grimaces and is about to get up, check on her, when she's there, leaning over him, an angry glint in her dark eyes. "Look at my hair!" she cries out, shaking out the strands of deep brown currently streaked in white. "I don't know what the hell this crap is, but it won't wash out! My clothes, my skin-" She pulls down her shirt, revealing the area around her chest is still a filmy white. "MY HAT! It ruined everything! There's even some on my face!" She stares down at him, pressing her hand into his face. "I had to go through an airport like this, and none of the soap I have even comes close to washing it off and I don't know what to do!"
She pounds her fists into the pillows on either side of him and looks like she's about to scream when he cups her face and kisses her, muffling some of her rage. "Let me try," he murmurs to her. She melts into him and nods vaguely, allowing him to lead her into the bathroom.
The water he runs is warm, the soap he selects smells nice, is all-natural, but still strong enough to wash off most things. A terrycloth rag later and he has her under the spray of the shower, gently running the soap over her glistening skin, watching as she closes her eyes and gives into him wholly. He holds his breath when he rinses off her hand, relieved to see her natural skintone showing through more and more as he gently rubs the cloth over her palm, along her fingers. Eventually the white is gone entirely and he lifts her hand up, lightly kissing it before stroking her cheek. "Look, Alicia."
She gazes at her hand for a moment before turning and hugging him tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, you're a miracle worker!" She kisses him quickly before turning back towards the water, waiting for him to clean the rest of her. He obligingly does so, wiping down every part of her still coated in the powder. It works, she now looks like herself and she exhales happily, running her fingers over her now clean skin before turning to look at him with a soft smirk.
"Alicia," he starts to say just for his words to falter and fail when she grips him by his shirt and drags him into the shower as well. "But- my clothes-" Nothing more than some shorts and an old, ratty shirt that he's had as long as he can remember, since he'd been in bed before she'd slammed her way inside... but still. She tsks at him and a moment later both articles are on the floor outside of the tub as she runs soothing fingers over his ribcage and gently kisses along the bruises almost healed there. "Alicia-"
"You cleaned me up really nice, I'm gonna return the favor," she purrs, smiling up at him. "Alright?"
Unable to refuse an offer like that, especially with the way she's looking at him, he nods. "Sure, of course. That's more than alright."
She giggles and finds the washcloth before wrapping her arms around him and kissing him lazily. "Thank you."
He holds onto her and nods, thinking he should be the one thanking her- for staying with him, for loving him, through all of the ups and downs of his life following the mess with Paige and Alberto. But those are a lot of feelings and emotions to condense into a few words so he keeps them to himself for now, choosing to enjoy how good this all feels, how nice it is to have her in his arms again.